The 7-month-old silver cross fox, typically found in Canada, was named by his owner, 20-year-old Alayna Sitterson of Sterling after that trouble making character on "Dora the Explorer."

The trouble started Sunday morning when Sitterson dressed up her pet fox in a skeleton costume for Halloween and walked him on a leash at Reston Town Center. Someone called police and animal control impounded the black-socked fox.

Sitterson was charged with unlawful possession of a wild animal. But Sitterson insists that her fox was bred for domestication and does not require a special permit.

"You tell him to shake and he'll give you his paw. He was born a pet and he was raised a pet," stated Sitterson.

The county deferred to a state wildlife biologist who sided with Swiper's owner. Monday night, Swiper was back in her arms.

"I'm so grateful to have him back, you just don't understand," shared Sitterson.

So, um, yay. Apparently, animal control officers told the nice TV reporter that they weren't sure if the rabies shots given to the fox by its (nearsighted?) vet were 100 percent effective, so if Swiper ever bites someone, "he would have to be put down." Hey, happy Tuesday!

Owner NOT arrested. Cited (e.g., given a citation).Owner contacted Virginia Game and Fisheries expert to verify that the fox was, in fact, a Silver Cross Fox...yes it was.Citation was then "dropped" because owning one is not against the law in Virginia. Owner researched all of this before getting the fox from a breeder.Owner does NOT live in Herndon...also a misprint.Those are the facts.

Anon 12:34 - if you're going to judge this blog by this story, you're missing the fun of Restonian. This whole story is stupid - attention needing girl, fox bred for a pet, cop being a jerk, anonymous narc who sicced the cop on her . . . and how embarrassing for Reston that we made the worldwide news based on this.

But, nonetheless, Restonian did NOT make this up - this blog just reports with intermittent snarking. Very rarely is there any out and out falsehood.

To enjoy being here you need to understand satire and snark and have a thick skin. And no, I'm NOT Restonian's author. Just a long time appreciator of the ironies pondered here.

I like all the people criticizing this blog for its reporting on Swiper the Fox. What's next, are you going to complain about inconsistencies in its coverage of Macaroni Grill breadsticks?

Now I see in the news story that Swiper's owner lives in Sterling, just over the Loudoun County line. This concerns me, because the Loudoun County Sheriff's Dept (they don't have an actual police dept) is always setting up immigration checks on the Loudoun/Fairfax line where they ask you for you driver's license, and the story says Swiper is from Canada. Does this mean rabid foxes can cross the border no problem, but people can't?